DOJ settles suit with beef suppliers who sold beef from mistreated cows for school lunches

 

[caption id="attachment_21086" align="alignleft" width="300"] National School Lunch program[/caption]

Leanne Jenkins---“The contractors who supply beef and other meat products to schools and child-care facilities have a responsibility to provide our nation’s young people with products that come only from healthy and humanely handled animals,” said André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney in Los Angeles following a settlement that involved selling beef products from slaughterhouses found guilty of mistreating animals. 

“This settlement holds accountable businesses that mistreated cows on a regular basis and routinely evaded a critically important USDA inspection procedure that allowed ‘downer cows’ to be processed into food.”Birotte went on to say.

The Department of Justice announced today that several Californian companies and individuals that had previously supplied beef to the National School Lunch Program have agreed on a settlement involving allegations of inhumane handling of cattle and avoid inspection of the work. 

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) filed suit under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA) after one of their investigators observed alleged inhumane cattle handling and videotaped their observations. The government joined in the suit that included the defendants Westland Meat Co. and Hallmark Meat Packing Company in Chino, California. Additional claims were brought because the defendants had conceiled the face that Aaron “Arnie” Magidow, a convicted felon, was a partner in some of the facility's operations.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations apply to those who supply food to the National School Lunch Program. These regulations prohibit the inhumane handling of cattle and require that facilities and treatment of animals be regularly inspected. 

 “Children across the country depend on the National School Lunch Program to provide them with a healthy meal each day, so we all depend on companies providing food to the program to follow the rules designed to ensure those meals are safe to eat,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery.  “The Justice Department will pursue aggressively anyone whose unlawful conduct puts the safety of our food at risk.”  

The National School Lunch Program is administered by the USDA. It is a federally-assisted meal program for children and provides free lunches each school da. All the ground beef containing the products of the defendants was recalled on February 16, 2008 and those suppliers are no longer able to be involved in the National School Lunch Program.

Earth-conscious land management is a way to sustain land for future generations

Biodiversity[/caption]

Samantha Greenbaum------Since the advent of agriculture, human beings have learned to tame the earth's wildness in order to improve the quality of their lives. Once a simple barrier from the elements, shelter is now fortified and climate-controlled for maximum comfort. Trodden paths gave way to highways, bridges, railroads and other forms of infrastructure. Subsistence farming was replaced by manufacturing, retailing and information technology. To make room for and protect these economic advances, forests were cleared, seawalls were erected and wildlife was displaced. Unfortunately, the ecological consequences of such disruptions include soil erosion, air pollution and imbalance in biological populations. These conditions make the land less sustainable, threatening future generations.

The Good News


The good news is that there are ways to provide pleasant, efficient surroundings for homeowners and businesses that minimize environmental damage. For example, the US Department of Agriculture recommends that biodiversity within a property is easily enhanced by the presence of a backyard pond. Anyone with a birdbath knows how a water source attracts various kinds of fauna. The pond can be of modest proportions—perhaps three to four feet in diameter—and can either be a dug-out earthen basin or a large vat or barrel. The addition of aquatic flora and a few fish will attract birds, frogs, butterflies and other species that create a dynamic ecosystem. A pump can be employed to re-circulate the water.


Backyard Environmentalism


In the same vein, a backyard wetland will also attract a variety of plant and animal species. A wetland consisting of grasses and related vegetation is usually referred to as a marsh. If the land is primarily growing shrubs or trees, the wetland is known as a swamp. The sole criterion for wetland classification is for water to cover the soil for at least two to three weeks during the growing season. Frogs, toads and salamanders flourish in wetlands and their proliferation can be tempered by bullfrogs and small fish. Similarly, there is a variety of aquatic insects that will prevent an excess of mosquitoes. Placement of a wetland depends on the size and slope of the property. Clay soils favor slower drainage, but this effect can also be gained through the installation of a plastic liner. Moisture is replenished through runoff from the roof and gutters.


Combating Soil Erosion


Soil erosion is a constant concern on sloped landscapes. The same runoff that feeds a wetland can leech nutrients from soil and deposit sediment in adjacent waterways. One earth-sensitive way of combating this phenomenon is through terracing. Planting gardens at intermittent levels along a slope has the effect of slowing the rate of water flow, allowing moisture to descend into the soil. Gradual inclines may allow for terrace-building with a few pieces of treated wood, whereas sharper slopes might call for bricks or even concrete blocks. Juniper, periwinkle and partridge berry are popular plants used to help reduce soil erosion.



Resources

The US Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency are excellent sources of information on ecological landscaping; each publishes copious amounts of literature in print and online. State environmental agencies also advise residents and businesses about green practices. Closer to home, property owners can consult their in-state cooperative extension service for advice. Originally chartered to provide scientific guidance to farmers, these services expanded to include household management and practical environmental information on gardening and pest management. Headquartered at the state's land-grant university, a cooperative extension service often has satellite offices in every county and provides useful instruction on earth-conscious land management.



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This article was provided by Samantha Greenbaum, earth-conscious mother of two and year-round gardener.